Dáil debates

Wednesday, 18 January 2017

Other Questions

Special Educational Needs

3:55 pm

Photo of Mick WallaceMick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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40. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills when the sections of the EPSEN Act 2004, which deal with provisions relating to an individual right to assessment and individual education plans, will be implemented; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1818/17]

Photo of Mick WallaceMick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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Thirteen years after the enactment of the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act, several key provisions of the legislation remain unimplemented. There does not seem to be a clear policy on the entitlement of children with special educational needs to education. As the Minister knows, Ireland has been criticised by international human rights watchdogs, such as the UN Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights, for our non-implementation of the Act.

In the previous Dáil, the programme for Government included a commitment to publish a plan on implementing the EPSEN Act, but this did not happen. Citing financial constraints, the current Government's aim is to implement some of the ideas in the Act through various policy changes on a non-statutory level.

Does the Minister agree that at present there is no road map for the policy change, which makes it nearly impossible to have a joined-up, systematic approach to the implementation of these policies, which was the whole idea of the Act in the first place?

Photo of Richard BrutonRichard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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A number of sections of the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004 have been commenced, including those establishing the National Council for Special Education and those promoting an inclusive approach to the education of children. In order to ensure that inclusive education can be provided for, very significant investment has been made in the area of special educational needs supports. In 2016, the Department of Education and Skills invested €1.5 billion in special education, almost one fifth of the entire education budget. It reflects our commitment as a Government to help children with special educational needs to fulfil their potential. Total spending on special educational needs has increased from €706 million in 2006 to €1.5 billion in 2016, thus more than doubling in the period.

Under the Programme for a Partnership Government I have committed to consulting with stakeholders on how best to progress aspects of the Act on a non-statutory basis. At present, all schools are encouraged to use education plans.  My Department's inspectorate's advice is that the majority of schools are now using some form of individual education planning for children with special needs. In line with Circular 30/2014, schools are required to put in place a personal pupil plan, including a care plan for all pupils availing of SNA support.

While awaiting the full implementation of the EPSEN Act, the NCSE has published a number of policy advice papers which make recommendations aimed at developing a better or more effective alternative to the current resource allocation model, and which aims to move the system towards ultimate implementation of the EPSEN Act. As the Deputy is aware, I have announced the details of that new model which are being implemented from September this year. That has been piloted successfully and I am confident it will introduce both a better and a fairer way of allocating resources to support children with special needs and ensure that they are able to follow an individual pupil plan within the school. That will be in the context of a whole school and not solely an individualisation approach. Clearly, the whole-school approach is the best model that has been based on the NCSE's experience.

Photo of Mick WallaceMick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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I accept that there have been increases in the last couple of budgets but the cuts were so severe in the previous ones that it has definitely resulted in some poor outcomes for many children with disabilities.

The Minister mentioned individual education plans, which the EPSEN Act called for. Some schools do make them but it is still not a legal requirement as far as I know. The idea is that all professionals involved in the provision of education to a child with special needs would work in a joined up way. It remains aspirational, however. I am not sure if the Minister is saying that the new changes will make it obligatory to operate in this manner.

Parents feel disempowered and find themselves at the mercy of the National Council for Special Education when seeking resources. They are also very much at the mercy of schools. Does the Minister not think that parents should be allowed to have a stronger role in what happens? The parents I know who have children with special needs are involved in a phenomenal amount of work to make it happen. They must struggle to get a fair deal for their children. They should therefore have a bigger stake in the decision-making process.

Photo of Richard BrutonRichard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I wish to correct one point. The figures I quoted were from €706 million in 2006 to €1,500 million in 2016, which covers the period when cutbacks were occurring in education. This area was not subject to cutbacks. Resource teaching has been increased by 41%. We now have 12,500 teachers providing resource or learning support, plus 12,500 special needs assistants. There has therefore been a substantial increase in resources for this area.

The announcement I made today will facilitate schools in approaching the needs of those children in a better way. It will direct more of the resources to children with special needs, which is a reform. It will not require them to have expensive diagnostic assessments that are often difficult for parents to obtain. In addition, it will ensure that the school can use that resource in a more creative manner.

I know that Deputy Wallace lives not too far from Marino College, which is just down the road where I have sometimes met him. It is a great example to hear how that college has successfully applied this new pilot model, thus making it a much more inclusive environment within the school under the new model. That will allow us to move to a stage where we can realistically implement the individual education plan on a universal basis in the context of a school that really values special education as a core part of its mandate.

Photo of Mick WallaceMick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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At the weekends, I also live close to schools in Wexford and Enniscorthy. They have fought tooth and nail to get a fair deal.

The changes are definitely welcome. The Minister referred to resources. Was he suggesting that resources are greater now than in 2012? Will the Minister clarify that point?

I wish to draw the attention of the Minister to another point. Many children with special needs, especially those moving into later teen years, face mental health challenges. Often, schools are not equipped to deal with this problem. Many of these children did not get as much care and attention as they deserved to get in earlier years. The Government should be conscious of these problems in secondary school as the children get older. There may be challenges in this area for the system.

4:05 pm

Photo of Richard BrutonRichard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I wish to reassure Deputy Wallace. There has been a 41% increase in the number of resource teachers since 2011, a 23% increase in special needs assistants and a 100% increase in the number of autism spectrum disorder classes in schools. Substantial investment is ongoing. I agree that parents need a better say. That is why we are introducing a parents charter Bill, the heads of which will go to the committee for evaluation. We have instituted an inclusion support service through the National Council for Special Education. This will help schools to implement the new approach.

Deputy Wallace is right to point out that complex challenges arise in the mental health area. Some of the earlier questions dealt with that. We need to enhance our role in this area. The roll-out of the National Educational Psychological Service, the well-being programme in the junior cycle and the restoration of guidance counselling are all part of an approach to try to put greater emphasis on the mental health of young people in schools as well.

Written Answers follow Adjournment.